Sun | Oct 19, 2025

Dunbeholden’s Hyde slams players after 1-0 loss to Cavalier

Published:Tuesday | January 2, 2024 | 12:10 AMRoxroy McLean/Contributor
Lenworth Hyde (left), coach of Dunbeholden, and Junior Flemmings, former Tivoli Gardens player and Reggae Boy, sharing a moment just before the start of the Wray and Nephew Jamaica Premier League football match between Tivoli Gardens and Lime Hall at the
Ian Allen
Lenworth Hyde (left), coach of Dunbeholden, and Junior Flemmings, former Tivoli Gardens player and Reggae Boy, sharing a moment just before the start of the Wray and Nephew Jamaica Premier League football match between Tivoli Gardens and Lime Hall at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex on Sunday.

Dunbeholden are playing some of the best football in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL), according to their coach Lenworth Hyde.

The St Catherine-based outfit plays with an air of confidence, caressing the ball, while manipulating open spaces with their precise movement and passes.

Opponents, if not disciplined, are often pulled out of position and into areas of the pitch that make them vulnerable in defence.

To put it simply, Dunbeholden look good on the eye. However, their experienced tactician says he is not satisfied with the players’ mentality. This, because as dazzling as their play may seem, the results aren’t forthcoming and Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Cavalier at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex has left Hyde fuming.

In fact Hyde, who has won the competition three times as a coach, was in a no-nonsense mood after Sunday’s defeat.

“We have to be tough and change the ‘dibby, dibby’ mentality about staying in the league. I told them that I will leave if they do not step up and start believing that they can win the title because no team in this league is playing the quality football that we are playing. We played well and we lost. The players’ brains need fixing,” said Hyde, after watching his side come up short against Cavalier.

Hyde immediately summoned his players to the touchline after the referee’s final whistle, reprimanding them openly about their apparent lack of self-belief.

He told The Gleaner that he believes their lack of self-belief has been showing in their play all season.

“I don’t think they believe as yet. When I came, I told them that I didn’t come in this to stay (in the league), I came to win. They have to believe that and I have to keep talking to them to step up the intensity with harder work and more mental preparation,” Hyde added.

Dunbeholden conceded in the 43rd-minute during a first-half that featured two interruptions, which lasted for several minutes.

Hyde said: “I have always told the players that just before the half-time we have to be vigilant and be ready, because that’s when goals are scored and they made that hurt us today.”

The veteran coach says the lapses in concentration during critical phases of the game were a result of poor preparation.

“I believe we played well, we kept the ball, we possessed the ball, but if we don’t do the right things off the field, we are going to lose games like these.

“We are playing well, creating chances, but not scoring. Those things will haunt you, and especially if you are not disciplined and have the right attitude. We need to step up with the training habits and that is the problem I have with this team,” he said.

With their win, Cavalier leapfrogged Dunbeholden (seventh) to fifth in the standings. The teams are level on 18 points but Cavalier have a superior goal difference. Vere United in sixth also have 18 points.